Dangerous Dance
by Sky Rider
Summary: When the Teen Titans are forced to go to a rich woman’s ballroom dance party to do some undercover work in order to catch some hard core criminals, things get dangerous. Can the Titans make it out alive? RobinxStar (complete)
1. Under My Mask

_Teen Titans – Dangerous Dance  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans and never will, so you have no reason to sue me.  
  
A/N: When the Teen Titans are forced to go to a rich woman's ballroom dance party to do some undercover work in order to catch some long despised and dangerous criminals, things end up getting more than just friendly between two of the Teen Titans. But What happens when the party is crashed by criminals they are looking for and the two Teen Titans end up seriously injured and unable to contact their friends for help?_  
  
"I hate dancing!" came Beast Boy's voice echoing all over the tower.  
  
"We all do," Robin and Cyborg said in irritated response, simultaneously.  
  
"But that can't keep us from doing our job," Robin explained agitatedly. "And as much as we don't like it...going to that ball is the only way that we can catch the guys we're looking for. Here's how it's going to be. Raven, you'll be with Beast Boy. Starfire, you'll be with...me," He caught an excited glance from her before he shifted his attention to Cyborg "and Cyborg will be scoping out the other people there. All this will take place tomorrow night...and the invitation says, formal attire. So, don't forget to dress your best."  
  
Robin' lips came together in a straight line and his eyebrows came a few inches up, then back down before he walked away.  
  
"A dance...oh, this will be so much fun!" Starfire exclaimed.  
  
"Speak for yourself," Beast Boy muttered.  
  
Not hearing a word Beast Boy had said, Starfire continued, "And I shall do your hair, Raven."  
  
"Um...okay." Raven said in the same dull tone as ever.  
  
It was then that Beast Boy and Cyborg decided to follow Robin's example and leave the room when Starfire started to suggest cloths to wear for Raven. It was all too apparent as the hours of their last day of freedom ticked away, before they must devote their entire existence to getting ready for Mrs. Ruth Rankin's ball, that truly, none of them were excited about this except Starfire. And why she _**was**_ excited, not one of her fellow Teen Titans could hazard a guess.

* * *

It was Starfire, naturally, who was up hours before everyone else started moaning and groaning due to their alarm clocks going off. She had been shifting back and fourth around the living area of the tower, picking up, looking at, discarding on the couch, and then picking up again-dresses...over and over again. She had a simple case of becoming like a teenage girl in the truest sense. Luckily for her, however, when she finally narrowed her choices down to a violet purple ball dress and a whitish-metallic-gray ball dress, her decision came rather quickly when she finally held the whitish- metallic-gray dress up in front of her to look at the mirror.  
  
She lifted an eyebrow, "Absolutely hideous." She shook her head as if to fully agree with herself. "But it would work nicely on Raven."  
  
Starfire put the whitish-metallic-gray dress down on the head of the couch, next to the other twelve dresses that didn't fit to Starfire's liking. Then, taking her chosen dress back to her room, she decided to get something to eat before continuing. By this time, however, the other Teen Titans--beginning with Raven--started coming groggily into the kitchen as well. When Starfire tried talking to Raven, being fully awake and completely giddy with excitement, Beast Boy grabbed a hold of Starfire's shirt.  
  
"What have you done to Starfire?" He demanded, shaking her slightly.  
  
Although, Robin was groggy and still felt as if he should be in bed, he pulled Beast Boy off of Starfire as soon as this had happened, telling Beast Boy that, that _**was**_ Starfire and to calm down.  
  
"This will be so much fun," Starfire concluded at last, earning her a sharp stare from everyone except Raven, who merely rolled her eyes.  
  
"All the boys are going to be in...what was it called, tuxedos...and we, Raven, will be in dresses." Starfire said triumphantly.  
  
Robin choked on the milk he was drinking and started coughing as Raven said to Starfire in her most dull voice, "I can't wait."  
  
When Robin finally stopped sputter and coughing, he looked up at Starfire. He hadn't thought about it before, but she was right, he _**would**_ have to wear a tux. Memories of the last time he wore a tux made a chill run down his spine. He could remember it so clearly. He had been forced to go to a young girl's prom. She had a very bad temper after having a fight with her boyfriend, before she had forced Robin to go with her. It had been an utter nightmare. Either he did whatever she told him to, or she would release a swarm of what he could only guess to be giant moths, on the city. Luckily, when he had utterly refused to kiss the girl, Cyborg and Beast Boy had found where the moths originated and kept them from destroying the city, while he promptly "dumped" her. Although, the night had ended with him dancing with Starfire, he still had to admit to himself how very uncomfortably close he was forced to become, to a complete stranger.  
  
He also had to admit to himself that, since this was an undercover operation, he couldn't wear his mask either. That meant that everyone, including his fellow Teen Titans would see his actual face for the first time ever. It wasn't that he liked the mask particularly, but somehow felt that it awarded him some protection against the crazy, out-of-control outside world that he so often was fighting crime in. He would have never told anyone, least of all the Teen Titans whom he considered his best friends, that he was... scared. Scared to leave his mask behind. Scared to not have his small shield against his surroundings with him. Most of all...scared of what his best friends would think about him after they saw what he really looked like. The feeling of not being totally in-control frightened him, and he would never admit it to anyone, even if the world burst into flames because he didn't. Why? Because he couldn't even admit it to himself, and that made is already so much harder to let other people into his shielded armor than it should have been. Even though Robin was not an emotional detached boy...the fact also remained that he had a record for his intentions being misread, especially by his friends, and a sticky situation becoming more than just a small misunderstanding.  
  
It was around noon by the time the living area of the Titan Tower was completely empty, and all the male Teen Titans were in Beast Boy's room, while the two girls of the group had retreated into Starfire's room. Starfire had grabbed the whitish-metallic-gray dress off the couch and had concluded by making Raven try it on that nothing could have fit the young sorceress more perfectly. Raven had simply rolled her eyes when Starfire had said this, but allowed her friend to continue helping her get ready, much to Starfire's delight.

* * *

Back in the Beast Boy's room, Robin was buttoning down his dress shirt, watching amusingly as Cyborg gave up buttoning his own, allowing Beast Boy to do it for him.  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Cyborg concluded after Beast Boy had slid the last button into it's slit of the dress shirt. Robin smiled, tucking the now buttoned shirt into his trousers.  
  
"I couldn't agree more, Cyborg, but just think. At least you won't have to do this ever again."  
  
"I better not. This shirt is way too small for me..." Cyborg said as he uncomfortably fidgeted in it, trying to make it feel right.  
  
"Dude, Cyborg. It's supposed to feel uncomfortable. That's why we don't dress like this very often," Beast Boy said, matter-of-factly. Robin chuckled lightly before grabbing one of the black bows off the back of one of Beast Boy's chairs. Beast Boy slowly reached the point where he too, along with Cyborg-with many complaints-were putting on their bows as well. Robin was buttoning down his tuxedo, and moved to look at himself in the mirror. He sighed and put trembling hands up to his face and slowly removed the mask that he had never taken off since the time he put it on, save for at night when he was alone. Robin turned around just as Beast Boy was helping Cyborg button down his tux as well. A calm twinkle came into his soft brown eyes as he watched them. Cyborg looked up and rolled his eyes toward Robin to indicate his discomfort when he jumped in surprise at Robin's new look. Robin put his mask on the chair where the three black bows had been only a few minutes before, then looked up at Cyborg's shocked face.  
  
"What?" Robin asked, slightly agitated.  
  
"Rob-Robin...your mask..." Cyborg said shakily pointing a finger of a shaky hand in Robin's direction. Beast Boy turned around, having completed buttoning Cyborg's tux along with his own, and jumped at the sight of Robin as well.  
  
"Is off," Robin interrupted, "There was no way around it. The mask would have been a dead give away." Robin shrugged and turned back towards the mirror, producing a comb and hair gel out of his pant pocket. Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at him for a moment before they started their own grooming, although, Cyborg didn't have much work to do that way.

* * *

Raven was standing silent and still as Starfire took a large scoop of gel and put it in her friend's hair. Raven rolled her eyes and ended up closing them due to lack of interest in what she would look like afterward. Within a few minutes, Starfire had made her friend's hair into a giant upward fan that actually made Raven look very beautiful, with the exception of her expression. When this was completed, Starfire started on her makeup, applying blue Eye-shadow along with various other kinds of makeup to Raven's face.  
  
When this task was completed, Starfire turned Raven around to see the mirror, telling her that she could open her eyes now. Then seeing that Raven seemed almost pleased with her look, Starfire took another scoop out of the gel and put it in her own hair. When completed, it was a slick, rolled inward-knot at the back of her head, allowing her bangs to fan in a sort of large curl above her eyes. Then finishing with her own makeup, she leaned towards the other mirror in her room to examine how she looked. She nodded her satisfaction at the mirror as if it had something to do with her appearance.

* * *

Starfire and Raven arrived in one of the two limousines sent by Mrs. Ruth Rankin---the person throwing the ball to begin with---while the male faction of the Teen Titans got out of a separate limo that was parked just in front of the girl's. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and the now unmasked Robin, made their way in front of the girl's limo and watched as the driver stepped out of the limo. He opened the door of the girl's limo, standing in front of it just enough to make it so that the boys couldn't see the person stepping out of the car at first. First to emerge from the car was Raven-- now with fanned hair, a whitish-metallic-gray dress, and white high-heeled shoes. All the male members of the Teen Titan's had their mouths open, and Beast Boy looked as if he were seeing the most beautiful thing in the world.  
  
"Hi," Raven said shortly when she saw them.  
  
When Raven spoke, it wasn't in the same emotionlessly dull dragging voice as she always had. Whether caused by Starfire or not, Raven's voice had taken on its own unique tone, but it was clear to see that it was indeed Raven's face and not another girl's, that they were looking at. Raven walked forward sweeping past Cyborg and Robin to stand next to Beast Boy, patiently waiting for Starfire.  
  
When the driver finally stepped back again to allow Starfire to exit the limo, it was a moment before she could be seen. However, when she finally stepped into complete vision of her fellow Teen Titans, Starfire--now having her hair slicked into a rolled inward-knot, her violet purple dress and black high-heeled shoes on, and a blue netted scarf draped across her elbows and laced behind her back carefully—didn't hold any of their attention quite as intently as she did Robin's. Robin's mouth, fell open again at the sight of her, and was just about to walk forward and take her hand when he read the look of utter shock on her face as she looked at him.  
  
"Robin. Your...your...mask," Starfire stuttered.  
  
Robin smiled at Starfire. A twinkle came to his soft brown eyes.  
  
"I can't really wear that on an undercover mission...can I?" He asked softly, not really caring for an answer. They hadn't noticed that the other Teen Titans had already left to go inside for the dancing and eating part of this mission, as well as to start looking for the criminals they were after. The limo also took it's leave, silently going to get more guests.  
  
"No...you are correct, Robin. The mask would have been a dead give away."  
  
Robin looked happily at Starfire for a moment, then said in a low, barely- audible voice, "It's too bad that we're here on business."  
  
"What?" Starfire asked him with interest, not hearing his statement.  
  
"Oh...nothing," Robin said, waving a dismissive hand in front of him. Then smiling, he took a step towards Starfire and bent his arm to her, offering for her to take it.  
  
"Shall we?" Robin asked, his eyes beginning to twinkle again.  
  
Starfire hesitated before smiling herself and taking his arm, nodding her thanks.  
  
The two young Teen Titans walked towards the huge house in front of them, both with a smile on their face.  
  
"Starfire?"  
  
"Yes, Robin."  
  
"Even though we have a job to do tonight..."  
  
"Yes, Robin."  
  
"...I have a feeling, that this will be a night to remember..."  
  
_Hi! This is my first attempt at a Teen Titan fan fic, so please review and tell me what you think so far. I haven't gotten into the main part of the fic yet, but I'm definitely working on it. I'm hoping that things will get smoother as I write more of this fic, but right now I'm just getting used to the series. My thanks to all who read and all who review!_


	2. Hidden Dangers

_Teen Titans - Dangerous Dance  
  
Hidden Dangers-  
  
Disclaimer: See page 1  
  
A/N: Hello! I finally got past my brief writers block with reading a fic from Weiß Kreuz. I hadn't really thought that much about the fic when I uploaded the first chapter, so I will be changing the rating slightly. It will now be PG-13. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of this fic. Thanks for reading!_  
  
Robin turned around to face Starfire, the mansion was crowded to the brim with people having ball dresses and high class tuxes on. Chandeliers hung in rows of about fifty or so, each spaced a good ten feet apart. The marble stairs to the upper level of the house had giant white ribbons draped on the banisters. The ceiling had fancy blue streamers hanging everywhere that didn't already have something there. Robin could also make out a kind of plastic coating the marble floor. No doubt to either protect it from the hundreds of feet that it would receive punishment from, or to give the floor some other surface that it would not be slippery—as to not have everyone fall on their rear end when they started to dance.  
  
It wasn't even the hundreds of people that amazed Robin. It was the hundred or so rooms clearly visible on the second floor, and the other at least thirty leading out of the dance hall on the floor he currently was on. It wasn't just a mansion with so many rooms either, each room had its own unique door, indicating that the room that the door led into must be equally unique.  
  
Not seeing Cyborg, Beast Boy, or Raven in his immediate sight, Robin held his right hand out to Starfire politely, his palm facing the ceiling.  
  
"Would you like to dance?" Robin asked. Now, Robin had only danced twice in his life, although he would only admit to once. It wasn't that Robin disliked dancing or that he simply didn't know how to dance. It was the fact that he usually never really liked his dance partners very much, therefore making it seem like dancing was a punishment to him somehow. However, on this rare occasion, he actually got the chance to dance with the exact person he wanted to.  
  
Starfire hesitated, a little startled by his question, but then smiled and nodded taking his hand to indicate her acceptance.  
  
Robin closed gently around it and turned towards the dance floor, walking in short strides-so that he wouldn't be dragging Starfire roughly behind him. He stopped a little way into the dance floor and turned around again. He let go of Starfire's hand briefly to gently grasp her right hand with his own left hand. Then hesitantly, he allowed Starfire to put her left hand on his shoulder before cautiously putting his right hand on her side, as if afraid that if he touched her in a certain way, he would burn his hand. Starfire waited patiently for Robin to get himself under control.  
  
Then finally, he started the dance step, allowing Starfire time to look down and learn while still stepping out her part of the dance. When Starfire was finally comfortable, she looked up--still silently counting the beats and thinking out the moves—as she looked at the unmasked Robin. He looked so relaxed this way. His eyes spoke of happiness and days when he had little cares to weigh down his young heart, days when he was allowed to be an innocent child. Starfire supposed that was why he wore his mask; so that he wouldn't have to face the cruel world with his own eyes...so that he could pretend it was all in his mind, all a horrible nightmare that decided to last a lifetime. She could understand this, because she sometimes felt the same way. It was then, however, that she had always started thinking about the other Teen Titans and their undying friendship to her and each other. Whatever happened. If no one else was ever there for her...she knew they always would be.  
  
"Having fun?" Robin said grabbing Starfire, startled, out of her thoughts. Then regaining her composure she smiled.  
  
"Yes, Robin, I am," Starfire answered.  
  
"Good, I'm glad," He said looking away to the view over her shoulder.  
  
Starfire blushed slightly as she felt Robin's hand move from her side to the lower part of her back. Robin allowed his gaze to drift back to Starfire as she recomposed her face.  
  
"Have you seen Cyborg or the other two at all?" Robin finally asked.  
  
An embarrassed wave of red flushed over Starfire's face. She hadn't even thought about the mission since she stepped onto the dance floor with Robin. Robin's expression turned into a confused half-smile.  
  
"What?" He asked with his soft brown eyes twinkling at Starfire.  
  
Starfire shook her head, "Nothing. Err...no, I haven't seen Raven, Beast Boy, or Cyborg."  
  
Robin nodded thoughtfully, mindlessly continuing to dance. "Well, I'm sure if they found the target, they would tell us."  
  
Starfire nodded, a smile showing white teeth found its way onto her face. Robin found himself staring at her for a moment without realizing it. Then occupied himself with looking over her shoulder at the crowd of people, trying to concentrate on finding at least one of the people they were looking for—Teen Titan or criminal.

* * *

Robin brought two drinks back to a set of chairs. One which Starfire now occupied and one which he intended on sitting in. Cyborg jogged up with a wide grin on his face.  
  
"Hey, what's up, man?" He asked, giddy with excitement.  
  
"You sound happy, what's going on?" Robin asked, hiding the relief in his voice at seeing his friend for the first time since he had left him at the limos.  
  
"Ah, you know. Dance stuff. I already got five lovely ladies to accept my dance proposals out of six. Not bad, huh?" Cyborg said, bouncing on his toes.  
  
"Not bad at all," Robin agreed. Then his voice took a suddenly more serious tone, "Have you seen Beast Boy and Raven?"  
  
Cyborg's head bobbed up and down very fast, "Yeah. The last I saw of them, they were dancing—well, if you could call that dancing. The way they were moving looked like Raven was a block of solid ice and Beast boy was a stream of water if you know what I mean. Anyway, as I said, they're over there in the far right corner. But I wouldn't disturb them right now...Beast Boy's been drooling over Raven since she stepped out of the limo two hours ago." He chuckled lightly at the thought. Then returned his attention to Starfire and Robin. "What about the mission? Anything happen yet?"  
  
Robin shook his head as Starfire's face flushed again. She knew that she hadn't been paying attention to anything other than Robin--the way his feet stepped so accurately, the way his arm had slowly and silently crept to almost the other side of her waist, his brown twinkling eyes looking at her from time to time, and the way he seemed so relaxed in her company. It had made her completely unaware of the things happening around her even after he had reminded her that they had a job to do. Thankfully, neither Robin nor Cyborg noticed Starfire's sudden change of coloring.  
  
"I looked for our targets, but found nothing. Either it was all a bluff and they're not here...or we just haven't seen them yet. It could be that they aren't anywhere near the dance floor too," Robin hesitated, "But if they are somewhere else, I wouldn't know where to begin looking."  
  
Cyborg nodded, "The lady who owns this place said that there were three- hundred twenty-seven rooms total in this mansion."  
  
Robin hissed with displeasure, "That would take hours for us to just walk through every _**hallway**_ in this mansion, not to mention search every enormous room in the house. We'll just have to hope they don't do anything in one of the rooms."  
  
Cyborg nodded, "That's all we can do. That and keep an eye out for them."  
  
"Yeah," Robin said, rising from his chair. Starfire, seeing him rise, did the same. Robin held out and bent arm to Starfire, indicating that she should take it. In response she wrapped her hand gently around Robin's arm for the second time that night.  
  
"Where are you going?" Cyborg asked, wondering what could be grabbing Robin's attention away from the mission at this moment.  
  
"I have a dance to finish," he said, leaning his head slightly towards Starfire then walking away with her on his arm.  
  
Cyborg rolled his eyes, then sighed, watching them walk back into the crowd of people. Just as he turned towards the back of the house, he could vaguely see Raven and Beast Boy exiting the house to the garden outside. He silently wondered how the decision to leave the inside of the mansion had come about, but he didn't bother to catch up to them in order to find out. He looked at the drink in his hand and sighed, draining the remaining liquid in it. He silently put it on a nearby table that was already stacked with dirty dishes and started walking towards the back door of the mansion as well.  
  
When he finally reached the door, he could see that it was well lit with garden lamps and small lanterns hanging from a few of the trees. Although he couldn't see any sign of Beast Boy or Raven, he could see many other couples on benches, standing together, or just strolling around the enormous garden. He sighed and shrugged before starting to walk forward. It was not long before he found himself pleasantly lost in an endless maze of bushes, flowers, trees, and even cacti. It was as if every square-acre of the garden had its own theme. One acre was herbs of many sorts—all of which gave the entire garden a soothing fragrance in the warm night air. There was no wind at all, which made everything still and peaceful except for the light chattering of an occasional nearby couple. For the first time in a very long time, he was completely calm and his worries drifted away into the clear night sky, like a ghost departing from its haunting habits to take its place peacefully in the afterlife.

* * *

It was around nine when the candles from the chandeliers were the only existing light in the dance hall. The orchestra had slowed their songs, making it more and more difficult to find a fitting dance that still kept Starfire and Robin from getting more than four inches closer to each other than normal. Within ten minutes of this, however, Robin gave up completely, seeing the whole thing as childish and cautiously put both of his hands around Starfire's waist. This put him about three inches apart from her—making him hold her in a sort of hug-like fashion. He silently hoped that she wouldn't take offense to this, but made no visual or verbal indication of this.  
  
On the contrary, Starfire blushed slightly at his closeness, then gently put her arms around his neck and shoulders. With this accomplished, she leaned forward slightly and rested her head on his shoulder. This startled Robin at first, but he quickly adjusted to it. Even so, this didn't stop him from becoming tensely aware that Starfire's head was inches away from his own. Sure, she had been this close before. When she was angry perhaps and wanted to prove a point, or when she was overjoyed at something. But never quite this way. Her closeness made him nervous as he found his mind wondering over various decisions he wasn't even aware he was making. Somehow, he had decided that this was beyond the role of any friendship. That to him, just maybe, Starfire meant a bit more than he ever realized. His eyes closed involuntarily as he became aware of her soothing lavender scent. It flooded his brain like a kind of fog, making it hard to think...hard to breathe.  
  
He suddenly became dimly aware that someone was calling his name. Someone pushed away from him slightly. He opened his eyes groggily, feeling as if it had been an eternity since he had done so. The image of Starfire's worried expression made its way to his brain. His senses protested, begging him to somehow get back to the same way he had been a moment earlier.  
  
"...Robin?" Starfire repeated. Her hands were gripping his shoulders tightly. Then seeing his eyes open, her hands relaxed slightly, becoming gentler. "Are you alright?"  
  
Robin blinked, releasing Starfire with one of his hands and rubbing it incoherently across his face. "Yeah, yeah...I'm fine."  
  
Starfire hesitated, then nodded with a nervous smile as Robin released her waist with his opposite hand as well, allowing her complete freedom. His eyes smiled back at her as he struggled to piece together exactly what had just happened. A yearning feeling possessed his heart and simply refused to let go. He wanted to do something, anything to show Starfire his feelings for her...feelings that without realizing it, had been growing for some time now. Nerves took over his body at the thought of doing more than hugging the girl he now found that he loved very much.  
  
A muffled ringing sound suddenly came from his pocket and his attention was drawn away from Starfire for a moment. It took a moment for him to remember that they had made a new com for this mission--making it look like any normal cellular phone, so that if they had to contact each other, they would both look like nothing more than a workaholic to everyone around them. Robin clicked the "answer" button on the com and held it up to his ear.  
  
"Yeah," he said in a way that reminded Starfire of when normal adult men would get an important call from their office about a customer. She could hear Raven's voice come over the com.  
  
"I just spotted our target. Haget, Sigg, and Cole just entered the garden."  
  
"Alright," Robin replied, "We'll be right th—" But his sentence was cut off by an expanding, blinding white light that clawed its way through the entire mansion, eventually reaching outside of the enormous house as well. A deafening roar sounded throughout the entire house and everything around it, followed by something knocking him off his feet with great force. His vision blacked out completely and he vaguely felt himself fall, unable to find a way to stop it. Everything seemed to fade around him and he remembered no more... 


	3. The Search

_Teen Titans – Dangerous Dance  
  
The Search -  
  
A/N: Sorry that I've been leaving you hanging for so long, but it seems that writers blocks are my specialty. Raven isn't exactly easy for me to write, it's a little hard to get into the way she thinks and still make it work with the situation, so please don't start throwing flames at me if I fail with her character miserably. Other than that, I'll see you next chapter._  
  
After the blinding light had passed, Cyborg and Beast Boy found a dark- colored magic field covering them, then slowly shrinking back to Raven. She had used it to repel the debris from the house and the power of the blast. Amazingly, Raven and Beast Boy had found Cyborg in time for Raven to shield him as well.  
  
Raven looked around her. All that was left of the beautiful mansion that they had occupied only half an hour before, was a towering heap of wood, plastic, marble, plaster, and various other materials. She could tell, that the people they were after did not bluff. They had set a bomb...and it went off. She looked at the wreckage in silent shock for a moment. Although her face was fully emotionless, as always, she could feel hatred and anger coursing through every vein in her body. It wasn't that this was so terrible that bothered Raven so much, as the fact that Robin and Starfire were still in the collapsed house, and she wasn't sure that even they could stand up to a bomb if an entire building collapsed on them. She saw Beast Boy and Cyborg gaping at the massacre with hollow, unbelieving expressions. After a moment or so, Cyborg's shock caught up with him and he started to walk towards the rubble, wanting desperately to dig out his friends.  
  
It was then, however, that a sharp voice broke the silence. "No. We need to find Sigg, Haget, and Cole. They might still be around here somewhere."  
  
Beast Boy and Cyborg looked around to see Raven standing behind them with her arms folded and a cross look on her face, which was only amplified by her fanned hair and makeup. Beast Boy looked as if he was going to start drooling over Raven again, and Cyborg swore that he could read a look of disgust on her face for a moment, but it did not linger.  
  
"Not before we find Starfire and Robin," Cyborg said sternly turning back around to the rubble.  
  
"Yes, Cyborg, even before we look for Starfire and Robin. We need to find and catch the people who did this before it happens again," Raven stated solidly.  
  
Beast Boy gaped at Raven. He had no idea that Raven could be a leader of any kind. He had always taken her as someone who would reluctantly go along with anything. He had to admit, most of the time she didn't show any interest in being the leader of the group. For the most part, Raven was the quiet one and Robin gave the orders, but he had always wondered who would take over if Robin was gone and Starfire wasn't there to jump into the role. He had always figured that Cyborg would be giving the orders then, but it was obvious in this situation that Cyborg was the one taking orders, not giving them.  
  
Raven unfolded her arms and hovered off the ground slightly. "Lets go." It was then very obvious that her decision to chase after the criminals they were looking for, was final. Neither Cyborg nor Beast Boy made any move to try and contradict her decision. Each was too surprised, angry, and tired to try going against her wishes.

* * *

Raven had traveled smoothly and silently for a good ten minutes before she finally found Sigg. Sigg was a dirty-brown haired young man with a muscular body. His T-shirt was either blue or black, being not very visible in the dark. He also wore what looked like a kind of mid-green colored pants and heavily worn black tennis shoes.  
  
Raven magically picked up a trash can, pelting it in Sigg's direction. When Sigg dodged this, she picked up a nearby sign post and flung it in his direction. All her anger was making it hard for her to aim correctly, making the sign post miss Sigg by nearly a foot even without him melting it with the fire that shot from his eyes.  
  
"Is that the best you can do?" Sigg taunted.  
  
Raven remained silent as she broke up a few huge pieces of cement from a condemned building nearby. She flung this at him as he tried to reach her. three hundred pounds of solid concrete hit Sigg at full force. Raven could feel her anger recede slightly as she heard a loud crack when Sigg hit the pavement under him. She winced, then lifted the concrete piece off of Sigg like someone would lift a shoe off of a cockroach after squashing it. She could see the young man's chest rise and fall rapidly. Slight relief swept over her to see that she had not seriously injured or killed the young man. She landed lightly on the ground and examined her prey. It was obvious that he could not easily move without pain. Satisfied, Raven picked up her com and pressed the "call police" button on it.

* * *

Beast Boy sneaked up in a bush in the form of a cricket, silently watching Haget. Haget was a blonde headed young man of no more than thirteen. He was wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans as he stood silently with his hands on his knees. It was obvious that the young man had been running, and thought that he was now safe from anyone that might try to track him. Beast Boy watched as the boy straightened himself and started walking away. It was then that Beast Boy had turned into a green dove and flew to the front of the boy, landing there.  
  
When the boy didn't notice him, he turned back into himself. Getting a terrified reaction out of the young blonde, he laughed before moving on to what he was here for. Having his fun, he got down to business by turning into a tiger and launching himself forward. He was surprised, however, when Haget set off something that made a great deal of smoke, cloud Beast Boy's vision for a moment. Turning back into himself again, Beast Boy fell to the ground coughing for a moment. After the smoke cleared, he saw the young blonde getting away. He turned into a hawk and took off after the boy again. Then catching up with the boy again, he landed and turned into a crocodile. When the young blonde saw this, his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell flat on his back. Beast Boy turned back into himself and let out a laugh. Still laughing, he took out his com and punched the button that read, "call police."

* * *

A street lamp was showing dimly overhead as Cyborg stood like a road block in front of the girl who was called Cole, but he guessed that she had another name sometime back that was something more feminine. The girl was sixteen at most. Her emerald eyes glowed in the light of the street lamp as she fidgeted with her complete black leather suit. Even in the blazing summer heat, all her cloths were long—long sleeves, long pants, knee-high boots, and the classic, black gloves to complete her look.  
  
The girl's long, jet black hair waved and shined as she broke into a run at Cyborg, who was standing in front of her. Wire, coming from her black leather shirt somewhere, caught Cyborg by his wrist as she flung it at him. When Cyborg mad a grab for her with his other hand she dodged it so easily that he could have swore she already knew what move he was going to make. He tried grabbing her once more by the collar of her shirt, but she did a sort of back flip, landing with one hand touching the pavement. In doing so, she pulled Cyborg forward, flat onto the pavement.  
  
Cyborg couldn't help thinking that if Robin were here to help fight her, things would be much simpler. He shoved the thought aside and put his mind back into the current circumstances. Cyborg picked himself up off the pavement and ran towards her again, grabbing the wire around his wrist with his other hand. Then swerving his direction at the last moment. The result was encouraging. Cole had tried to dodge his attack, but ended up running right into it. She fell backwards on the pavement, and was so shocked for a moment that it gave Cyborg enough time to wrap the wire between them around her wrists, acting as handcuffs. Cole kicked and screamed at him in rage, but Cyborg only smiled. He unwrapped the wire from his own wrist and picked up his com. Then still looking very attentively at the black haired girl, he pressed the "call police" button on his com, waiting patiently for an answer.

* * *

It was five A.M. before all the Teen Titans, except for Starfire and Robin, were safely home. Cyborg had wanted to look for Starfire and Robin right away, but in the end they all agreed that being exhausted and angry as they all currently were, wouldn't help find anyone.  
  
"Besides," Beast Boy pointed out, "We don't even know where to look. The house was huge, remember?"  
  
"And if I know Robin, he wouldn't have wanted us to lose sleep over this," Raven stated gravely.  
  
Reluctantly, with a feeling of guilt that they got to sleep in their own beds while Robin and Starfire did not, just as the sun started coming up, they all finally fell asleep.

* * *

By noon, the Titan Tower was completely empty once again. They were all on their way to the rubble of the mansion that they had been in only the night before. Each thought that they would find Robin and Starfire by the end of the day with no problem, but as they reached the grounded mansion it was very clear that they had been very wrong. There were rescue crews crawling all over the rubble. Some taking people out of it that were just under the surface of the rubble, others had rescue dogs, and others still were just ordinary people wanting to help. They could see the owner of the mansion standing next to police, talking to them. It had been obvious that she was not in the building when it collapsed, the Titans had made sure of that. However, it didn't look as if there was any sign of Robin or Starfire yet.  
  
Within seconds the remaining Teen Titans had gotten to work. Raven was magically lifting ruble off the pile, a few pieces at a time, as to make sure not to lift anyone up with it. Cyborg was picking up pieces of concrete and marble, and throwing them to the side of the grounded mansion. Beast Boy had turned himself into a dog and was searching over the rubble with his nose pressed to it. Occasionally, he would look up and change into himself saying that he had found someone, but it had never turned out to be Robin or Starfire.  
  
At the end of the day when they were all frustrated, hungry, and tired once again, they made their way reluctantly back to the Titan Tower. They each had silently hoped that Robin and Starfire would be waiting for them when they got back, that they had found a way out somehow, but in all reality, the Titan Tower was dark and silent when they got back. Dinner was completely silent and no one spoke as they headed to their rooms trying to make themselves sleep.  
  
In the end it was a futile task, and one by one each of them snuck out of the silent Titan Tower, and somehow found themselves digging at rubble in the dark. They could see the night rescue crews working along side them. The place was crawling with people trying to help dig the victims of the explosion out, but other than the occasional "over here, I found someone" or "This one's still alive, get him to the hospital," there was little talk once so ever.  
  
The thought of what Robin and Starfire must be doing at this moment if they were still alive, crossed Raven's mind more than once that night. However, she also refused to believe that any Teen Titan, least of all Starfire and Robin could be killed so easily. _**But then why weren't they here with the rest of them, now? Had one of them been badly injured?**_ She knew that, combined, Robin's and Starfire's abilities, in any normal circumstances, were next to unbeatable. Sure, Cyborg and Robin paired up a lot and Starfire like pairing up with Beast Boy regularly, but Robin and Starfire could throw a pretty good punch all by themselves, and they were next to unbeatable when they were together. It was this fact that bothered Raven most about Robin and Starfire not making it out of the rubble by themselves.  
  
The night wore on and too soon, the early morning light was peaking over the horizon to shine it happy warm light on them. The beautiful warm sunshine was something that felt to Raven, very unnatural and cruel at this time.  
  
Another day passed with not finding Robin or Starfire. Just as Raven was beginning to despair slightly, Beast Boy walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. It was a simple gesture of kindness that, for some reason, touched Raven very deeply and made her want to cry. The sun sunk again, leaving darkness behind.  
  
"We'll find them Raven. Don't worry, we'll find them," Beast Boy said to her with a respectful smile on his face.  
  
Raven nodded and continued clearing rubble. So came another sleepless night for the three young Teen Titans. It was then that they all vowed to not sleep again until Starfire and Robin were found. The darkness was silent as the same process was repeated again.


	4. Buried Alive

_Teen Titans – Dangerous Dance  
  
Buried Alive –  
  
A/N: This chapter explains what happened to Robin and Starfire while Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were searching for them in the last chapter. It also explains some of the things that happened at the dance. Well, that's all for the moment. See you next chapter._  
  
Robin opened his eyes slowly to find himself staring into somewhere that was almost completely dark, itself. Every part of his body ached and protested as he tried to get off what he could only guess to be some sort of floor. Barely able to force his body into a sitting position, he looked around at his surroundings, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He could see now that the place he was in was not completely dark. There was a kind of gray light shinning through from somewhere. He could make out the shape of a woman on top of a pile of rubble a few feet from him. One look at her told him that she was Starfire. Panic surged through him and he got on his hands and knees, crawling towards her. It seemed as if they were in a very small cavern under the rubble, judging by its space. His mind struggled for coherence as he finally reached Starfire.  
  
_**'What happened? Where are we?'**_ he thought. Short clips of the ballroom dance entered his mind slowly. Then suddenly images, emotions, memories or certain details, and things said, flooded into his brain. When he finally brought himself back to reality, his mind was buzzing with questions. _**'Smell? What smell? Why was I acting that way? When did I decide that I loved Starfire?'**_  
  
Robin frowned. The concern he had for Starfire now was not that of someone who was concerned for their lover. It was a concern of someone towards their best friend. He lifted his hand up to Starfire's neck and checked her pulse, relived when he could feel a steady beating pressure against his fingers.  
  
His brain started to wander again as he put his hand back to the floor to support his weight, _**'Smell? Wait a second...was it...rosemary? no...'**_ his brain teased, trying to register the smell, but could he remember? Robin closed his eyes for a moment trying to focus on regaining his strength in his body a little. _**'Was it nightshade? no...blueberry? no...honey? no...lavender? no...or...was it?'**_ Robin couldn't remember. His memory was slightly fuzzy after the part where he had smelled something. His mind suddenly registered the smell as if a light had suddenly gone on in his brain. _**'Has to be lavender...the fuzzy memory...I remember now. I'm allergic to lavender. It makes it hard for me to breathe. And what about Starfire? Do I really love her? I don't think so.'**_ Robin searched his brain for evidence of anything that he might have done or said to Starfire that would make it impossible to take the feelings back without breaking her heart, but it seemed as if luck was on his side for the most part.  
  
Robin opened his eyes again, seeing that his strength wasn't going to come back to him anytime soon. Then lifting his hand off the ground again, he took to shaking Starfire lightly. "Starfire," he said out loud, foolishly relived to hear his own voice loud and clear.  
  
"Starfire!" He called sternly, still shaking her lightly. He was about to call out her name again when he heard a hacking cough start up in front of him. He saw a hand move to her mouth to calm it. Then groaning slightly, she pinched her eyes together firmly before opening them. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, but when they did she smiled weakly at seeing Robin there with a worried look on his face. At this, Robin relaxed slightly. He wasn't quite sure why, though. After all, he had no idea how badly injured she was, but it was some relief to him to see her open her eyes.  
  
"Starefire, are you alright?" Robin's voice echoed in the small dark space they were enclosed in.  
  
"Yes, Robin," Starfire's voice wasn't its usual quality of brightness, but it was still pretty strong.  
  
"That's good at least," He nodded encouragingly.  
  
"Where are we?" Starfire asked him in the same dull and cracked voice as before.  
  
"From what I can remember and what we're both wearing," Robin pointed to his tux and her dress, "I'd say we're still in the mansion. The last thing I remember was a blinding light...so I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that something exploded near—if not in—the mansion."  
  
Starfire nodded thoughtfully before her attention started to wander. Robin could tell that she was having a hard time focusing on him, but he couldn't do much about it accept to try and keep her awake. He was afraid that Starfire had a pretty bad concussion to go along with the piece of marble floor that had fallen on one of her legs, entrapping it. He was too weak at the moment to do much about the marble, though. If he had been right, however, he couldn't allow Starfire to go back to sleep for fear that she may slip into a coma in doing so. Instead, he decided to focus all his attention on talking to her to keep her attention long enough so that her mind wouldn't try to slip into a silent slumber.  
  
"What do you remember last?" Robin asked Starfire, in an effort to make her think.  
  
"Umm...I think I recall you holding me, then you got a call from Raven. That's about it," Starfire looked at him apologetically.  
  
Robin nodded, "Yeah, that's about what I remember." Immediately his mind started searching for something to talk about, something to keep Starfire awake without her realizing that something was wrong. It was only a few seconds later that he found he couldn't avoid the truth of the situation...  
  
"Robin," Starfire said slowly, "I'm going to go to sleep again...I'm so tired."  
  
As realization hit him full force that he had been right, he eyes flashed in her direction. He wished for his mask more than anything, now. Something to hide behind. Something to put between him and the current circumstances. There was no way around it, however, it was just him and Starfire in the current circumstances. He didn't like to admit it, but right now, he was more scared than he had ever been in his entire life.  
  
"No!" Robin heard himself shout, more out of instinct than out of thought. Then finally regaining the control over his thoughts, he struggled to find a reasonable explanation as to why he wanted to keep Starfire awake. He wanted to make her feel as if it had nothing to do with her. Maybe even make himself look like a coward in the process, but whatever it took, he didn't want her to know how very close she was to slipping into something so near to death. He watched as Starfire struggled to look at him with a puzzled expression on her face.  
  
"No," He repeated more quietly, "Don't go to sleep. I...uh...well...I don't want to be alone down here." Robin blushed at this explanation, knowing that it was not entirely untrue. Even so, in any normal circumstances, he wouldn't have said anything about it.  
  
Starfire slowly pieced together a frown, which in itself was not normal for her. "Robin, you're afraid?" A look of complete disbelief ran over her face.  
  
Robin looked away in embarrassment. That look from Starfire was more than he had bargained for. "Err...yeah," He mumbled.  
  
Starfire's expression gave way to a teasing smile and she started to giggle. Within moments Robin heard her giggles turn into a bone wrenching cough. He waited several moments for it subside. It was obvious that the dust had gotten in her lungs, and if she wasn't careful she could get dust pneumonia before they found a way out. Any disease down here could be deadly; especially one that was already life threatening in normal circumstances. In the dread that started to engulf him, he did the only thing he could think of to do in this situation; he picked himself up, balancing on his toes and knees. He reached forward and wrapped his arms around Starfire to rub her back. He wasn't quite aware of himself as he did this. Slowly, Starfire's coughing calmed and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Robin could feel her warm body against his and how it shook every time a coughing fit threatened to come over her again.  
  
As he held her close to him, he became suddenly more aware of the marble piece of floor burying one of Starfire's legs. He couldn't stand leaving it on her any longer. He reached down and with his remaining strength, lifted it off her, revealing a swollen leg underneath. She flinched as he threw the piece aside. He could tell that it was broken. His heart fell, _**'Why her? Why does everything happen to her?'**_ he thought desperately, _**'Out of this mess, I got the longer end of the stick.'**_ His throat tightened involuntarily and he could feel tears starting to press upon him. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.  
  
Starfire could feel his change in movement, "Robin?" she asked dully, with a slight hint of worry in her voice.  
  
"Yes, Starfire?" Robin's voice had been lowered to a choked whisper. He swallowed hard again, not willing to give in to his grief, not willing for it to make him look weak in Starfire's eyes.  
  
"Are you okay?" Her voice had regained some of its bright song, bouncing off the walls around them and coming back to Robin's ears over and over again. This, for some reason, made Robin only need to weep more, but he refused to give in. He took a deep breath and managed to choke out his answer in a next-to-natural tone.  
  
"Y-Yes. I'm fine."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
Robin, suddenly aware of himself, leaned away from Starfire, allowing her to see what little of his face she could.  
  
"Yes," he forced a smile.  
  
When he saw her face, however, struggling for coherence and consciousness, his heart plunged into yet another uncertain path of panic.  
  
"Starfire?" He asked, waiting for her to make some answer, any answer, as long as he knew she was still with him. There was nothing. "Starfire?" He repeated. Then his voice became very panicked and very urgent. "Starfire! Starfire, wakeup! Come on...remember? I'm scared to be alone in this place. Starfire, please! Talk to me! STARFIRE!"  
  
His friend's eyes opened slowly and with great effort as she looked at him, "What's wrong?"  
  
Robin felt a wave of relief sweep over him as he looked at her would-be attentive face. As he looked at her with this relief, he became suddenly aware of the exhaustion pressing in on him. He tried to shake it off at first, saying that if he fell asleep, he couldn't keep Starfire awake. However, as the time wore on, it became harder and harder to ignore. While all this had been happening, he was steadily talking to Starfire about anything and everything he could possibly think of, even kinds of dresses and food—neither of which he found remotely interesting. Finally, after hours of skating on the edge and fighting against it, sleep bore in on him and refused to let go. In a desperate attempt to keep Starfire awake while he would fall into a troubled slumber...he fibbed.  
  
"Starfire, I need to sleep for a little while, now, I'm getting sick. So, what I need you to do...is to count backwards to one million and wake me up when you're finished. Can you do that?" Robin asked. He felt guilty about lying to her, but he didn't want her to panic about her own condition, and he needed her to stay awake while he slept. He wasn't quite sure how much longer he could hold onto consciousness, himself, so he had to insure that Starfire would try her hardest to stay awake even when he was not there to help.  
  
Starfire surveyed him with a half-worried, half-incoherent look on her face. Then nodded.  
  
"If you are sick, I will take care of you, Robin. Don't worry. You can go to sleep, and I'll wake you up when I'm finished counting," she said triumphantly.  
  
Robin was thankful that Starfire was in no fit state to put two and two together, otherwise he knew she would have demanded that he just sleep as long as he needed to. He nodded reluctantly laying himself back down to the floor, and hesitantly allowed himself to drift into a deep slumber.

* * *

All too soon, a pair of gentle hands were shaking Robin awake. A soft voice sung his name until he found himself looking up at Starfire's face. Robin sighed and raised himself to his hands and knees before pulling himself into a sitting position. It took him a brief moment to piece together all the things that had happened since the mansion had collapsed on them, but once he did, he was very thankful that he had been correct about how to keep Starfire awake while he was not. The only problem now, was to make sure that she stayed awake when he _**was **_there to keep her company. He felt slightly guilty for falling asleep when the task of keeping Starfire awake was laying on his shoulders. The irony on the situation pressed in on him as he pressured his mind to find something to talk about.  
  
"How long do you think its been since we first found ourselves down here, Starfire?" He watched her attentively, seeing her shrug.  
  
"I don't know," she said through a cracked voice. "It seems like it must have been at least a day. It got really dark in here earlier, while you were sleeping. But now it's a bit lighter in here, just like it was before you fell asleep." Telling from her voice, Starfire sounded as if her mind was a bit sharper now than it had been when he fell asleep a few hours ago.  
  
"I have to confess, though," Starfire said in a guilt ridden voice, "I didn't count to a million. I fell asleep somewhere around two hundred."  
  
Shock suddenly came over Robin in a great wave as the sudden realization of what had just happened sunk into his mind. Then relief spread over him. He had been wrong. Starfire didn't have a major concussion as he had falsely thought before. She had probably just been as tired as he had been...or more. Even so, Robin was quite sure that Starfire's cracked and dull voice had something to do with the dust in her lungs, and there was no mistaking her broken leg.  
  
The small space around him suddenly seemed extraordinarily hot and stuffy. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself doubled over, with his fists against the floor, coughing so fiercely that his lungs burned in his chest. Starfire put a hand on his chest to keep him from losing his grip and falling to the ground. When his coughing fit had subsided, Starfire pulled him upright and put a hand on his forehead. She frowned.  
  
"You _**are**_ sick," she said as she affectionately brushed away some of the hair from his eyes.  
  
Robin looked up at her questioningly, and as if reading his mind, Starefire gave her explanation.  
  
"You're burning up," she said, waving a hand to indicate his forehead.  
  
Robin nodded, thinking that, that explained why he felt so horrible. Whenever he had told Starfire that he had been getting sick, he didn't actually think he was, but as always...lying comes with consequences. Thankfully, however, these consequences, no matter how annoying and painful they were, they were something he could live with. A thought suddenly occurred to him. He remembered feeling weak when he woke up the first time. He doubted that any building falling on him could hurt him that much. After all, he was a Teen Titian. On the other hand, he was not so resistant to disease. While it was true that he didn't get sick very often in his life; when he did, he got hit hard. He opened his eyes again to see Starfire gently dragging him onto her lap. When she lay his head against her chest he felt his whole body completely give in. His body felt like it was too full of lead to resist anything even if he wanted to. She lifted him up a little more, so that his head was laying on her shoulder and his body was laying on her chest.  
  
Once again, a wave of utter exhaustion came over Robin and not strong enough to resist, he closed his eyes again to welcome the deep slumber that closed in on him. With Starfire's hands tied loosely around his chest, and the steady rise and fall of her own chest against his back, his mind fell into a complete peaceful darkness, and he knew no more... 


	5. Friendly Ties

_Teen Titans – Dangerous Dance  
  
Friendly Ties –  
  
I'd like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the people who reviewed, and for their wonderful words of encouragement. I'd also like to thank everyone who reads this fic, for the simple reason that it makes the time I put into writing it, worth the effort. On that note, please enjoy, and I'll see you next chapter._  
  
On the fifth day after Robin and Starfire had been gone from any reach of the Teen Titans, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven had to break their vows of not sleeping before they found Robin and Starfire. No matter how much they may have wanted to keep it, there was just no getting around the fact that they were all too tired to move much, not to mention lift ruble. So, once again, the Teen Titans made their way back to the Titan Tower. Each fell asleep almost immediately upon reaching their bed.  
  
It was still dark outside when Raven found that she could not sleep anymore. She slowly made her way into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She found, that lately, tea had a way of calming her nerves. Once it had brewed and she put a few teaspoons of sugar in it, she settled herself down in a chair in the living room. She looked out the still-dark window on the other side of the room. Her mind had kept running over the same possibilities, one at a time. _**Where were Starfire and Robin? Were they alright?**_ and most of all _**Why were they not answering their com-links?**_ Raven had tried to contact both of them, several times, but there was never any answer. She supposed that either, her signal wasn't getting through to them, they were injured or worse, or that they were separated from their com-links. _**Not that it would have made such a big difference as far as finding them goes, but still it would have been comforting to know if they were alright.  
**_  
She took a sip of her tea, frowning at the window.  
  
"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" A voice called softly from across the room, making Raven jump. She looked to her left and saw Beast Boy sitting cross-legged on the couch. He looked very tired, and his face didn't seem to have its usual joking expression.  
  
Raven watched silently as Beast Boy uncrossed his legs, putting them flat on the floor. Then putting his elbows on his knees, he let his hands dangle to the floor. He bowed his head to look down at them for a moment before straightening himself back up and running a hand over his tired face. When he had done all this in complete silence, he turned back to Raven. A smile came over his exhausted expression, trying to comfort the young sorceress.  
  
"I know how you feel," He said at last, "I miss them too."  
  
Raven, who had let her attention wander slightly, snapped her head back in his direction. Then she let her eyes wander again for a moment. "Yes," she said after a few moments, "it's a bit empty here without them."  
  
There was an awkward pause for a moment before Beast Boy decided that it was too quiet. "I see you've taken to drinking tea." There was a hesitant pause before Beast Boy continued, "Robin would always start drinking tea whenever he got nervous, too."  
  
"Yeah, I thought...if it works for him...it might work for me too," Raven said, shrugging.  
  
Beast Boy smiled a little wider, "Yeah, I suppose so."  
  
There was another awkward pause. It was Raven's turn to break the silence this time.  
  
"You know," she said, putting the mug of tea down on the coffee table in front of her, "I've never seen you this serious before. Usually, you end up making a joke or something half way through a conversation."  
  
There was a slightly hesitant pause before Beast Boy answered, "Well, I guess, we're just all tired and worried." He offered her a toothy grin.  
  
Raven nodded, ignoring his efforts to make her feel better, "Yeah. I suppose...I'll feel better, though, when Robin is back to making the decisions."  
  
Beast Boy nodded, "Yeah, I guess. Still...even when we find him and Starfire...more than likely...they are going to need some time to recover."  
  
Raven frowned and nodded, "Yes, I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though."  
  
Beast Boy nodded thoughtfully, trying to hide his utter amazement at getting such a long conversation with Raven. He was too surprised that she was actually admitting to what she was feeling, to try and joke about any of it. Raven had picked her mug back up and was drinking her tea again. Silence had fallen between them again.  
  
"What do you think they are doing right now, anyway?" Beast Boy ventured, hoping that this wasn't going too far.  
  
"Probably trying to survive and get out anyway possible. What do you think?" Raven said.  
  
"I think...that if they haven't gotten out yet, something's happened to Robin. I know he would try any way possible to get out if he was well and able. on the other hand, Starfire is more of the 'wait and see' type. More than likely, since they're not out yet...it's not Starfire that's injured."  
  
Raven nodded, "Yeah...that's what I was afraid of." Raven took her mug walking to the sink and put it in there, along with all the other dirty dishes. She stood there for a moment before looking back at Beast Boy, who was watching her.  
  
"I suppose, it's just easier to think of Robin as the person who always takes care of everyone else. The person who always gives the orders." Raven said.  
  
Beast Boy nodded, "I know what you mean."  
  
Raven returned to her chair, next to the couch, looking over at Beast Boy. "Still, I'm a bit worried about Starfire. I don't think she's as strong as Robin that way. Robin can handle just about anything...from what I've seen. Over the years, he was always the one that would never quit. He gave the orders and he never let anyone slack off. He never let any of us down."  
  
"Yeah, that's about what it comes down to," Beast boy replied. His head bobbed in the air.  
  
Raven gave him a half grin. There was another brief moment of silence.  
  
"So, I take it...that was the reason you couldn't sleep tonight?" Raven asked.  
  
"Yeah," Beast Boy nodded, "As I said, I'm worried, just like you and Cyborg are." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Although, it looks as if Cyborg was too tired to worry."  
  
A genuine giggle came from a now wide-smiling Raven. She wasn't entirely sure why she was laughing, but it felt good somehow. It made some of her fear leave her, replaced by a kind of happiness that she had never felt before. She could see Beast Boy smile too after she had finally stopped giggling.  
  
It suddenly became clear to Raven exactly why everyone got along so well with Beast Boy. He was funny, he was green, and he was friendly. On some level, he reminded her of the song "Blue." Only, he was just the opposite. She started to let her mind wander into the possibilities of Beast Boy having his own song, which would be called "Green." Only, instead of saying that everything was sad and boring because it was blue, it would be happy and exciting because it was green, which totally described Beast Boy in every possible way.  
  
Raven pulled her mind out of these thoughts, suddenly aware of how very foolish they were. She focused her attention back on Beast Boy.  
  
"—which was why Robin said that in the first place. Of course Starfire agreed with him," Beast Boy said, pausing for a moment, then continuing on, "I suppose that's why the whole thing was a success; just for the simple reason that Cyborg didn't go with us that day. Don't you think?"  
  
Raven stared at him briefly, then blinked and nodded, "Oh...y-yeah." She wasn't about to tell him that she had no earthly idea what he was talking about.  
  
"So, what do you think about the whole thing between Robin and Starfire, anyway? They've been chasing around it for a while, haven't they? Every time they get close, one of them either blows it off and says they're just friends, or something happens that separates them," Beast Boy said.  
  
Raven nodded thoughtfully. Relieved that she now knew what the conversation was about, again. "Yes, but who knows? Maybe they really are just friends."  
  
Beast Boy shook his head, "That's not what Cyborg said he saw them at the dancing thing that night. He said that they were hanging together a lot. He also said they made a nice couple," Beast laughed, letting his gaze wander slightly, before looking back at Raven.  
  
"Yes, well...that night was a bit of a fantasy land to everyone, I think...until the mansion blew up," Raven's gaze drifted to the floor.  
  
"I know what you're thinking, Raven, but stop beating yourself up over it. It's not worth it. Besides, it's not your fault," Beast Boy said before stifling a yawn.  
  
Raven nodded, "Yeah, I know." She rose out of her chair, crossing the room to look out the window, "But still...it doesn't seem right that it had to happen to Robin and Starfire. It really should have happened to all of us."  
  
"Aww...see, now you're ruining it. You and I both know that, if anyone can handle having a three story house collapse on them, it's Robin and Starfire," Beast Boy said teasingly. His head bobbed up and down again in an energetic fashion.  
  
Raven shrugged back at him and nodded, "Alright, I'll give you that one, but only because you're right." She returned to her chair again, finding herself looking at the floor again. There was silence for a moment. Beast Boy opened his mouth to speak, but Raven started first.  
  
"When I was very young," She said as she stared at the coffee table in front of her, "I did anything and everything to stand out. It made objects float around the house, I threw temper tantrums by picking up large objects and tossing them magically across the room, and I just didn't think friends were worth the trouble..."  
  
Beast boy blinked, he wasn't sure how to act to Raven's sudden openness. It was as if she had rewarded his jokes and friendly talk by tossing him a key to her deepest buried emotions. He decided to just listen for the moment.  
  
"When I was a little older, I wanted to be emotionless and strong. I didn't want to be dependent on anyone, so I buried everything deep down, hoping that, that was where it would all stay. Since then, I've been that way. Desperately trying not to feel anything. Not really caring one way or the other what happens to anyone else...well, as long as they don't die or anything. Doing things loyally without complaint. I've been that way so long, that's it hard to remember how to not be that way. I suppose, what I'm trying to say is...I admire you. I admire you for being able to be so open, so cheery, even in the worst of circumstances. That is something that I could never achieve," Raven said, finally coming to a stop, which left a brief silence.  
  
"I...uh...I really don't know what to say..." Beast Boy tried to answer her compliment.  
  
"You don't have to say anything," Raven said, rising out of her chair once again. She stood up and looked at Beast Boy for a moment, then, as if to finalize what she had just said, she added, "Now, I'm going back to bed. You should do the same. We all have a very long day ahead of us, tomorrow." She walked to the hall, calling, "Good night," before making her way back to her room.  
  
Beast Boy just sat there for a moment, amazed at everything that had just happened—allowing himself to take it in—before walking back to his own room. Within minutes the Teen Tower was dark once again, and a peaceful feel filled it, letting all of its occupants find a deep, comfortable slumber.


	6. The Heart Will Tell

_Teen Titans – Dangerous Dance  
  
The Heart Will Tell –  
  
D/N: I actually wrote this chapter before the fifth one, but I figured that I should even out the stuff going on with Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg first. This in the continuation of the scene with Robin and Starfire. See you next chapter._  
  
_**A bright sun was shining overhead as Robin ran against the wind. He had to get away, had to get away from something...but what? He couldn't remember. Something was chasing him, though, that much he knew. He brought his hands up to his face. His mask was gone... Panic surged over him, he had to find it. He stopped running and went back to look for his mask. Just then, something pushed him and he fell into a giant hole that he hadn't seen there before. He tried to grab onto a ledge somewhere, but he couldn't find anything. He tried to scream, but no sound would come out of his mouth. Suddenly, as the darkness swallowed him, he felt himself hit the ground.**  
_  
Robin gasped and his eyes opened, suddenly leaning forward in his already sitting position, he felt sweat trickling down every part of him. Every part of his body ached and burned. He felt two hands reach forward and drag him gently back towards where they had originated. Robin tensely looked behind him to see who it was, and was relieved to see Starfire. It was obvious that she had taken off his tuxedo while he slept, because it was laying on the ground, to her left. It also appeared that she had undid the top button and cuff buttons of his dress shirt, rolling up the sleeves above his elbows.  
  
Starfire leaned forward slightly, putting an arm around Robin's chest. She reached forward with her remaining hand, putting it on his forehead for a moment. "Mm..." Robin listened to this, remaining silent. Then after a brief pause, Starfire got down to what she wanted to say.  
  
"Another nightmare?" Starfire asked, a worried expression was pasted on her face.  
  
Robin hesitated, thinking of denying it, but then deciding that right now, down here, was not the time nor the place to be stubborn. He swallowed with some difficulty, then nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Starfire nodded seriously, "Not surprising. You've been twitching and talk in your sleep for hours."  
  
Horror struck Robin when he heard this. He tried to remember all the details of his dreams, hoping against all hope that he hadn't said the names of any of the Teen Titans. The urgent search of his mind was interrupted by Starfire's mumbling behind him.  
  
"You said my name a few times too..." Starfire broke off and Robin's eyes closed in horror. What had he said about her? He didn't look back, afraid to see an angry or confused expression on his friend's face. He felt Starfire's grip around his chest tighten a little. His brain suddenly matched an emotion from one of his dreams and he suddenly realized without even looking at her face, what it looked like. When he finally turned to look at her, his face flushed at his guess being correct. Starfire was blushing, a deep shade of red that was even visible in this dim light. It was then that his stomach dropped to the floor.  
  
In one of his more pleasant dreams, he gone back to the dance and actually told Starfire that he loved her. The reality of the situation smashed into him like a brick wall. There was no way to take it back now. He had said it out loud, and he had obviously meant it. This meant that Starfire believed him, no matter how incoherent he was. The ache in his body only increased with his sudden stress. His head started to spin, making him close his eyes. It was also quite obvious that, under the circumstances, Starfire didn't expect for Robin to tell her anything about what she had previously heard, right away.  
  
Starfire's grip loosened a little, allowing him a few more inches. Robin would have never admitted it to anyone other than himself, but he felt comfortable being this close to Starfire. He leaned back against her again, carefully positioning his head on her shoulder. The strength in his body was giving out again, but he was able to keep himself conscious without much effort. Then, seeing that Starfire's words would not go away, he spoke quietly.  
  
"Did I say anything after your name?" Robin needed to know for sure that he was right before he told Starfire what he was feeling and what she needed to hear.  
  
Starfire hesitated, "You said...that...you loved me." If Robin's stomach had dropped to the floor before, it was now being dragged through the floor by and anchor that was on a one way trip to the center of the earth.  
  
Robin had never taken the time to step back and take a good look at himself before now. He found the feeling uncomfortable. There was something unnerving about sorting through all one's emotions for certain people, not to mention how he viewed himself. Instead of letting things be they way they were fated to be, he had buried himself in being the leader. Feeling nothing intensely—anger, love, or anything else. Now that he was forced to examine exactly how he felt about Starfire, he found that he couldn't brush the explanation away so easily. He had always thought about Starfire as his best friend, and that was, perhaps, what made it so hard to let go of that; to move onto something more. He couldn't deny anymore that his feelings at the dance had had nothing to do with his allergic reaction to the lavender he smelled. Sure his actions were blurred, but his feelings were genuine.  
  
There was still silence for several long moments. His mind was trying to come up with the right words to make what she had heard the truth, yet to not get into dramatics. Robin had almost thought of trying to deny it again, but canceled it out of his mind the moment it had appeared there. He couldn't run from the truth anymore, certainly not at Starfire's expense.  
  
"Starfire...I...what I said—" His voice was strong but struggling to keep stable. Then starting over, he gathered strength to make Starfire see that he meant everything that he was saying, "Starfire, the things that I said to you when I was asleep. I—"  
  
"I know you didn't mean them, Robin. That's okay, really," Starfire interrupted.  
  
"No, Starfire!" Robin could hear himself shout. His voice echoed loudly in the small cavernous space. With the last of his strength, he lifted his head off her shoulder, unlaced her hands around his chest and slowly turned himself around to look at her. His soft brown eyes penetrated her green ones with such intensity that it looked, for a moment, as if he might start to cry. "No," he repeated softly, lifting a hand to brush away a few strands of hair from her eyes, "I wanted to tell you...I meant every word of what I said. I just didn't want to put our friendship at risk. I didn't want that, because our friendship meant too much to me, for me care about some extra feelings that were there."  
  
Starfire was startled by his sudden openness with her. She could tell that he was completely at her mercy now. His eyes were boring into her like knives. His expression was a lot sharper and coherent than it had been in many hours, which told Starfire that he truly meant everything he said and expected some sort of reaction from her, to it. Eventually, Starfire got her voice back. All she could say was, "Robin, I have similar feelings for you as well."  
  
Robin's pressing look softened into an expression of silent shock and joy. He nodded, causing a wave of dizziness to come over him. He had to press a hand to the floor to keep himself upright, but it soon passed. When he could once again tell where everything around him was, he found that, not only had he nearly taken a nasty dip to the floor, but Starfire's hand was pressed hard on his chest. He supposed that this as well, had been to keep him from hitting the floor. He looked up at Starfire questioningly, just as she drew back her hand.  
  
Their gaze was locked eye to eye for a moment before Robin's eyes closed involuntarily and he his hole body seemed to tilt to the side. A feeling of complete exhaustion came over him and his mind went suddenly blank. Starfire saw this and grabbed his arms, pulling him upright again. Then, when he didn't make any movement at all, she dragged him back towards her, putting his back against her chest again and carefully leaning his head back on her shoulder. A worried expression came over her face. She knew that the stress and effort of everything he had just had to endure had made him pass out. She hadn't told Robin, but her body, being not mortal human, had healed itself a long time ago, after he had lifted the ruble off her leg. Meaning, her broken leg and dust pneumonia were no more.  
  
She had gone over the possibility of trying to transport some of this healing power to Robin, but what he would think about how it would have to be done, was nagging at her constantly. She put a hand up to his forehead again and flinched at the now, even-hotter feel of it. The way she saw it...she had two options...either she got Robin out of here very soon to get him professional care—this was out of the question because she wasn't sure exactly how far under the rubble they were—or she would have to kiss him. It wasn't the action itself that bothered her at all. She actually liked the idea a little bit. It was, what Robin would think after receiving it, that bothered her. Sure, he had said all those things only a few minutes before and she knew he meant them, but she wasn't sure if he had meant it in that way...if he truly wanted to be _**that**_ close to her. As thoughts of confusion chased themselves through her mind, she wrapped her hands gently around his chest. Slowly she drifted into a troubled sleep.

* * *

Starfire awoke to Robin restlessly moaning and gasping for air in his sleep. She could tell that he was in pain, but she was afraid to do anything. She shifted her hold, so that there was only one hand around his chest, then reached up with the other to check the temperature on his forehead. She could feel the sweat on his bangs as she brushed them away. The heat from his forehead heated her palm unnaturally, making a chill run through her spine. She couldn't wait any longer...she had to do something.  
  
She gently shifted his body to her knees and his head to her hand, then lifted it hesitantly upwards. She leaned down slightly, turning her head slightly. Her hair, which had mostly fallen out of its elegant bun since the dance, came down around her, becoming a curtain around Robin's head. She closed her eyes as she felt her lips make contact with his. Robin's breathing suddenly calmed slightly. This went on for a long moment before Starfire leaned away from him. After a minute or two, she could see that his breathing was already much improved. He wasn't gasping for air very much anymore. His restless moaning, however, had not ceased. She guessed that his healing would take time, but for the most part, he did seem to be leaning towards being on the mend, now.  
  
She gently shifted him again, so that his body was once again leaning on her chest, while his head rested on her shoulder. She had just closed her eyes when she heard shouting from somewhere overhead. Her eyes snapped back open in time to see a rock being lifted off of what she had know for several days to be the ceiling. A bright light shown through the small space where the rock had been lifted off of. There were more voices overhead, shouting all at once. She could only catch a few words, "look over here...yeah, looks like it...two...at least one is alive."  
  
Suddenly, several more pieces of ruble were lifted off by something black, revealing the sky. Raven could be seen floating overhead as she threw the ruble far to the side. Beast Boy's head came into view. He had a wide grin on his face at the sight of her with Robin laying against her; Robin still not conscious.  
  
"Hey, guys! What's up?" Beast Boy shouted down to her. This was enough to vaguely alert Robin that something was going on. He stirred slightly, just in time to catch Cyborg pop his head into view.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt, but we thought you two lovebirds might want a ride back to a more romantic location. Say, home?" Cyborg teased.  
  
A wide grin slowly came across Robin's face at this remark and a heart felt chuckle escaped him. Starfire looked utterly confused.  
  
"Love...birds?" Starfire questioned.  
  
"Don't worry...about it...Star..." Robin managed to say before Beast Boy and Raven came into the small cavern-like area. Beast Boy turned into a phoenix, lifting Robin out of the ruble and laying him a few feet away from the hole. Raven picked Starfire up roughly by the waste and lifted her out of the hole, too. Then laying Starfire in a sitting position, Raven watched as Robin passed out again.  
  
"Is he alright?" Raven asked, her voice sounded calm as always.  
  
Starfire shrugged, "I think he is now...but he's been sick almost he entire time we've down there."  
  
There was silence for a moment before Cyborg picked up Robin and started heading for the Titan Tower.  
  
"Can you walk?" Raven asked as Beast Boy started making signs for Raven to come with him.  
  
Starfire nodded, and shakily got to her feet. Raven turned and started walking next to Beast Boy, making Starfire follow close behind. So, the site of ruble and agony for all the Teen Titans was left behind, as was Robin's tux. The sun rose into full blown rays of light as the morning went by, reuniting the Teen Titans again. 


	7. All the Pieces of the Puzzle

_Teen Titans – Dangerous Dance  
  
All The Pieces of The Puzzle –  
  
A/N: This is going to be the last chapter in this fic. It may have a sequel later on. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did._  
  
Starfire stood in the hallway of the Teen Tower. She was looking intently at Robin, who was still in bed, facing the window; but found herself debating whether she should go into his room or not.  
  
"I know how you feel," a voice said softly in her ear. Starfire jumped and turned around to see Cyborg standing there. She nodded, "Yes, Cyborg, I am a little afraid to talk to him. After all, we spent almost six entire days in a very small space, together."  
  
"Ah, don't worry about it," Cyborg said, waving a hand in front of his face, "Robin is one of the very few people I know, who is always there for everyone. He's also one o the few people I know who can stand anything."  
  
"Yes, you're right," she nodded reluctantly, "I have to go talk to him."  
  
"That's the spirit!" Cyborg clapped a hand on her back, sending her into the doorway.  
  
For a moment Starfire just stood there, unsure of what she should do. Then seeing Robin face her direction she made herself walk a step forward. "Um...how are you feeling, Robin?"  
  
Robin smiled. He had kept his mask off for the time being. "Better," he replied.  
  
His soft brown eyes seemed to penetrate Starfire, telling her that he knew and saw all. This was a little unnerving to Starfire, but she made an attempt at a smile, all the same.  
  
"That's good, at least," She nodded encouragingly, searching her brain desperately for something to talk about. She couldn't think of much, and the fact that she was trying to dodge telling him about the kiss, didn't help matters.  
  
"What about you?" Robin asked, breaking the momentary silence.  
  
Starfire snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him for a moment before her brain processed what he was talking about, "Oh, I'm fine. It looks like you got the shorter end of the stick this time." She smiled apologetically.  
  
"Funny," Robin said, frowning, "Before I found out I was sick, I was just thinking the same thing about you."  
  
"How so?" Starfire asked. Her eyebrows rose in response.  
  
"Well, I was pretty sure you had, a bad concussion, a broken bone in your leg, and the classic dust pneumonia. I don't understand how I could have been so wrong, even if I was delirious," Robin said.  
  
Starfire's fingers laced together uncomfortably and she found herself looking at the ground for a moment. Finally, she looked back up to find Robin watching her, "You...weren't...wrong," she said hesitantly, "It's just, my body...has something in it...that allows it to heal itself. So, in the long run...all my injuries were completely superficial."  
  
Robin nodded, then looked at her with a slight expression of concern on his face, "Hey," he said gently, "What's eating you, anyway?"  
  
Starfire gaped for a second, trying to think of some words to say, "I...uh...nothing...nothing, I'm fine."  
  
The frowning concern on his face did not fade, "Starfire, you haven't talked to me at all for two days...and now I can barely get you to look at me. What is wrong?" his voice was confused and harsh, now. It was clear to Starfire that he wanted an answer to why the person he had considered such a close friend in the past, couldn't look or talk to him without staring at the floor or stuttering. There was silence for a long awkward moment. Then suddenly, Robin understood. It was as if a light switch had just turned on in his brain...a vague memory...more like a feeling than an action...something that he could barely remember. It was something so close to the edge of his memory that he could barely remember it, but it was definitely there, "Starfire," he began softly, "If this is about...that kiss...then..."  
  
Starfire's head suddenly shot back up, and she looked at him square in the face. Shock coursed through her entire body. She felt like melting right into the floor. She couldn't move or speak because she was dreading with every fiber of her being, what he was going to say. The words of disapproval from Robin were already forming in her head.  
  
"...I was awake throughout the entire thing," Robin paused for a moment, then added, "I may not have been very strong or very coherent at the time, but I did kiss back." Robin stopped there, allowing for this to sink into Starfire's mind, one word at a time.  
  
Starfire gaped, mouthing wordlessly for a moment, then simply closed her mouth and look at him in shock. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed. _**Was she really that nervous and determined about the whole thing that she hadn't even noticed that he had accepted it and was going along with it?  
**_  
"For what it's worth, Star," Robin said gently, interrupting her thoughts, "You _**are**_ very good at that kind of thing."  
  
Starfire blushed a deep red, making Robin smile. There was silence between the two. A kind of silent understanding had come between them as Starfire walked closer to Robin and sat down in a chair next to his bed.

* * *

"So, what do you think now, Raven?" Beast boy asked as they watched and listened to Starfire and Robin, while remaining in the hall.  
  
Raven shrugged, "I have to admit, they definitely have a good chance at being a couple."  
  
"See, I told you," Beast Boy said, leading the way back to the couch in the living room. He leaned back, allowing himself to hit the cushions on it. Then looked over at Raven, who had taken a seat in her usual chair. "Hey, you know how you said, a few days ago, that you admired me?"  
  
Raven looked around for a moment to make sure no one else was in the room, then nodded, "Yes."  
  
"Well, I really admire you too. The way you took charge while Robin was away...that's something I could never do," Beast Boy said, his head bobbing energetically up and down again.  
  
"Err...thank you," Raven replied.  
  
"HEY!" Came a rather loud shout from the kitchen, "The fridge is empty again! Someone needs to go shopping!"  
  
"I vote Raven!" Chorused three voices simultaneously. Two from Robin's room and one from the kitchen.  
  
Beast boy laughed. Raven rolled her eyes with a groan and slumped back in her chair. It was just another normal day in the Titan Tower. 


End file.
